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Tool still working on new album

Back in 2014, Tool guitarist Adam Jones told a group of fans that the band's next record was not only done but would be released the next day. Then he added, "just kidding." Unfortunately, Jones' joke was taken out of context and reported on a website. Tool ultimately had to release its own statement explaining that no, the next Tool album was not done yet.

"Unfortunately, (Jones') off-the-cuff joke was taken out of context," they wrote to Rolling Stone. "Working on the forthcoming album is ongoing and as soon as it is done, trust me, we will be the first to let everyone know."

One thing that fans were completely unaware of was a lawsuit the band got embroiled in took on a life of its own. That stopped the band's songwriters from working on new music, but the turmoil lifted and the perceived work stoppage slowly began to resolve itself. In fact, Maynard James Keenan recently offered a progress report on Instagram, saying the album is "progressing nicely" and that that he's been making trips to Los Angeles to check in on the writing process.

"Nothing is recorded yet, but the guys are confident that the pieces are coming together swimmingly and will be ready for me to begin writing melodies and content soon," he said. "I'm as anxious to get this album completed as everyone else."

Tool back on tour (Updated 2/13/14)

It's been seven years since Tool's last album, "10,000 Days," and it's beginning to feel like fans may have to wait just as long for another one. In fact, listeners have suffered through only sporadic updates from members and the band's website, and recent comments from Maynard James Keenan on the progress aren't exactly encouraging.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Keenan said, 'I don't write the music. They [my bandmates] write the music. I wait for them to bring music to me. They tend to go back over and over stuff. It's a long process. For a person like me, it can be a very tedious process."

That comes on the heels of drummer Danny Carey's Loudwire interview in which he speculated the band may have a new album out in early 2014. And while that timetable now appears to be in jeopardy, fans of the band have something else to look forward to.

The iconic rockers have finally announced a new string of US tour dates, and will be hitting the road March 2014 for a string of North American shows. It will be followed by two dates in Mexico, and the band hopes that the tour will be extended to include European and UK dates as well.

These will be the band's first live shows since the summer of 2012. They'll kick things off at the Spokane Arena in Spokane, Washington on March 4, then make a pair of stops in Oregon before moving on to Reno, Nevada and San Francisco, California. The band rolls in Mexico City on March 18, and will play Festival Cumbre Tajin in Veracruz on March 21, 2014.

Tool works toward new album (Updated April 10, 2013)

Dark underground metal was the basis for the kind of rock music that the industry came know from Tool. Well, that and the tortured angst that helped them take the industry by storm in 1993. That was when Tool landed a slot on the third Lollapalooza tour and never looked back. Their debut album, "Undertow," was just the beginning for this group of guys making music in a post-Nirvana world.

In 1996, America said goodbye to alt rock and Tool was the benefactor. With a primarily metal-oriented sound, their sophomore album "Ænima," moved them on to bigger and better things – namely, a co-headlining slot with Korn and a tour that carried them well into the next year. And this, of course, was when experimentation and artistic flair really found their way into Tool's music

The album "Lateralus" (2001) marked the beginning of the critical acclaim and commercial success Tool would begin to achieve. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, helped the band to a Grammy Award for which they famously thanked Satan in their acceptance speech, and continued to grow what would often be referred to as the band's insane and devoted cult following

You can't really say Tool has been on an extended hiatus, even though its last full-length release was "10,000 Days" in 1996. Sure, they've taken breaks, but they've never broken up. A 2009 summer tour kicked off about the same time they began working on a new album, and even though the process isn't yet complete… it's getting there.

In January 2013, the band stated it was "over half done" with the upcoming project, with conflicting opinions among Tool's members on whether it would actually be released this year.

About Tool

Founded in 1990, multiple Grammy Award winning Alt/Art/Heavy Metal Rock Band Tool has continued to delight its passionate fan base with a body of work that pounds out its raw yet refined and melodic messages of passionate individuality and positive integrity. Tools' complex but melodic musical structures and emotive lyrical content has at times bordered on controversial. Although controversy has trailed the band throughout its storied career, they remain true to their vision of elementally eruptive sound matched to a unique, artistically adventurous sensibility, one that is too often lost in the musical corporate jungle and drowned out by the bottom line. Get Tool tickets to watch the action live in concert.

Tool Discography

Album name

Release date

Vicarious

2006

10,000 Days

2006

Parabola

2002

Lateralus

2001

Schism

2001

Salival

2000

Opiate

1998

Forty Six & 2

1997

Stinkfist

1996

Ænima

1996

Sober: Tales From the Darkside

1994

Opium Den

1994

Undertow

1993

Prison Sex

1993

Tales From the Darkside

1993

72826

1991

Top 10 Tool Songs

Rank

Track Name

Play Count

Listener Count

1

Schism

219,870

64,146

2

Vicarious

204,080

58,497

3

Parabola

191,211

56,630

4

The Pot

190,015

54,089

5

Stinkfist

156,644

50,285

6

Jambi

162,342

49,476

7

Lateralus

161,341

46,996

8

Parabol

141,176

46,850

9

The Grudge

137,197

46,615

10

Eulogy

122,939

42,731

News

January 24, 2014

Tool to Tour the West Coast

Tool Tour Dates Concerts Videos Tool Tour An oldie (but a goodie), Los Angeles-based hard rockers Tool have just confirmed a mini West Coast tour. Kicking off March 4 at Spokane, WA’s Spokane Arena, the band will play a series of shows in Portland, OR at Moda Center; Eugene, OR at the Matthew Knight Arena;…

Tool Concert Tickets Concerts Video for "Sober" Tool Tour It's been two whole years since Tool last played in Australia (and nearly eight since they released a new album), but this summer they're head…